Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring
Admission requirements: A bachelor degree or equivalent + 1 year of theological study at AQF 5
The Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring is a coursework certificate supporting professional skills and practice and/or further study and scholarship. Its purpose is to provide advanced knowledge and skills for a professional ministry as a Christian mentor.
Course AQF level: 8
Maximum time: 3 years
Credit points: 48
Available to overseas students: no
Admission Requirements: Completed 3 year bachelor degree or equivalent; and completed at least 1 year of ministry or theology or divinity study at Level 5 or above. Language Qualifications for NESB: IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 7.0 in reading and writing, and 6.5 in listening and speaking OR 10 years in Australia with English being the language primarily spoken both at home and work.
Note: New, fully online intake starting July 2024!
The SMBC Christian Mentoring Course consists of a series of three units taught over three years. Each unit consists of several workshops, including a residential component. Together they build competence for Christian mentoring at an advanced level.
By taking these three units within the Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring (or Graduate Certificate of Divinity if you have not studied theology before) you will be qualified for mentoring in a variety of contexts. The principles apply in local and cross-cultural ministry settings, for helping men and women throughout their journeys as disciples.
What is Christian Mentoring?
Mentoring is an intentional interpersonal process in which one person equips and empowers another toward more effective ministry through sharing God-given encouragement, instruction and resources.
Aims of Christian Mentoring
Christian mentors aim to empower disciples for more effective ministry and personal spiritual growth through setting and moving toward clear mutually agreed objectives that arise from the mentoree’s life and ministry. Christian mentoring is statistically associated with disciples growing throughout a fruitful Christian life. It is a thoughtful way to encourage vital Christian individuals and ministry and faith communities.
In the course of your training as a professional Christian mentor you will also be equipped with knowledge and skill in the related areas of professional supervision and ministry coaching. Highly effective mentors also need to be able to switch modes into the reflective practice of supervision and the skills training of coaching.
Hear what some of our Christian Mentoring students say:
"I've been loving the Christian Mentoring course. As someone in full-time ministry within a church context, this course has really grown me in both the conviction and competency to make disciples, build leaders and equip the saints, especially in a one-one context."
"This course has been of great benefit, not only in equipping me with a framework, skills and tools for Christian mentoring, but also providing opportunities to apply these things in my own life and ministry. It has been personally challenging and life-enriching."
"As one who loves to encourage and speak into the lives of others, this course has helped equip and enable me to do this better and at the same time helped me in my own growth as a disciple of Jesus."
"I have found this course really stretching me in a good way. It's made me think through the biblical and practical foundation for my mentoring ministry. And a big highlight for me is learning in a community of like-minded and supportive people."
"The course is fantastic! I’m learning so much about how to love others well as I serve them in a mentoring context."
"This course has been fantastic not only in my own growing understanding and competency with mentoring ministry, but also in the ways that I have been able to apply it to all other ministry I am a part of, as well as ministering to myself."
Course structure
UNIT 1 – PC043-824i/924i (double unit): Christian Mentoring: Foundations and Dynamics
This unit is designed to contribute to your professional and vocational formation in ministry by addressing the concept and practice of Christian mentoring as a specialist area within your ministry. Christian mentoring is a broad and important area of specialised ministry and research that requires accomplished scholarly practitioners to master a significant range of theory and practice.
The Christian Mentoring: Foundations and Dynamics unit (made up of six workshops) is the first of three units that build competence, by focusing on three main areas:
Biblical, theological and contemporary theoretical perspectives on mentoring;
Skills and methods in mentoring;
Fieldwork in which you apply your developing competence in one or two mentoring relationships.
UNIT 2 – PC021-812i/912i: Mentoring Christian Leaders
This unit builds on Christian mentoring in the professional and vocational formation of postgraduate students in theology and ministry by applying skills in Christian mentoring to emerging and existing Christian leaders as a specialist area within their professional activity. This unit focuses on three main areas:
Biblical, theological and contemporary perspectives on Christian leadership and on mentoring, supervision and coaching of Christian leaders;
Skills and methods in mentoring Christian leaders;
Fieldwork in which you apply your developing competence in two or three relationships mentoring Christian leaders.
UNIT 3 – PC022-812i/912i: Professional Practice as a Christian Mentor
This unit builds on mentoring Christian leaders in the professional and vocational formation of postgraduate students in theology and ministry by developing knowledge and skills in Christian mentoring as a healthy and sustainable professional practice. This unit focuses on three main areas:
Critical perspectives on professional practice and training as a Christian mentor, with reflection on healthy boundaries and support structures and with a thoughtful personal style of mentoring, and all framed by a sound theology of ministry and practice;
Skills and methods that are sufficiently accomplished for professional practice as a mentor;
Fieldwork in which you apply your developing competence in an emerging practice as a professional Christian mentor.
Each of these units are taught by academically qualified professional Christian mentors:
This program is conducted in partnership with MEQ.
If you are interested in this course, please feel free to contact our registrars for more information here
This is a course of the Australian College of Theology. For more detailed information on this course see the ACT course overview and ACT Coursework Course Enrolment Policy.
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